Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of Naukri.com, shared his thoughts on convocation speeches and the kind of speakers that leave a lasting impact on students. While many were sharing videos of commencement speakers from prestigious universities in the United States, Bikhchandani offered a different perspective based on his personal experience.
Recalling his own convocation ceremony at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Bikhchandani highlighted the power of a speech that is not just slick and polished but one that challenges and provokes the audience. He vividly remembered the speech delivered by Dr. Verghese Kurien, the Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and former Amul boss, who served as the chief guest at the convocation of his seniors’ batch.
Dr. Kurien's speech was far from polite; it was filled with bluntness, sarcasm, and condescension. He taunted the graduating class by referring to IIMA as the "Indian Institute of Management for Shampoo Salesmen." He also referred to management institutes as "training schools for shampoo salesmen."
“He was not polite. He was downright rude. He was condescending. He was sarcastic. He was caustic. He was insulting. He spoke a few home truths to the graduating class. He taunted us,” Bikhchandani wrote.
Dr. Kurien criticized the graduates for their limited aspirations and their inclination to work for multinational corporations, peddling consumer products to Indian consumers, he added.
“He opened by congratulating the graduating class. He then said that this is not the Indian Institute of Management. This is the Indian Institute of Management for Shampoo Salesmen. And that the entire graduating class could now look forward to a life where they spend their time selling soap and shampoo. For that is the limit of our aspiration and ambition he said. We just wanted to work for Multinational Corporations peddling their wares to Indian consumers. Such a colossal waste of talent he called it. And throughout his speech he repeatedly used the term “shampoo salesmen” derisively to describe the graduates of IIMA,” Bikhchandani recalled.
Bikhchandani acknowledged that Dr. Kurien's speech left a lasting impact on him and his classmates. It was a speech that made their ears burn, but it was also one that they remembered long after their convocation day. Bikhchandani noted that the class of 1989, to which he belonged, produced the highest number of entrepreneurs in the history of IIM-A, indicating that some students did take Dr. Kurien's challenge seriously and pursued different paths.
Reflecting on his own experience, Bikhchandani questioned the effectiveness of warm and fuzzy convocation speeches that fail to make a lasting impact. He argued that the speeches that truly resonate are the ones that challenge the status quo, provoke deep thinking, and inspire graduates to go beyond their comfort zones.
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